Watson quiets the off-field noise with a steady performance for the Browns in a win over the Jaguars

CLEVELAND (AP) — Between the lines for three-plus hours, Deshaun Watson was able to put aside all the distractions and problems.

That doesn't mean they've gone away.

Cleveland's quarterback bounced back from a rough return in the season opener and delivered some big plays on Sunday as the Browns withstood an ugly, penalty-filled performance and held off the Jacksonville Jaguars 18-13.

For Watson, it was both a confidence booster and temporary diversion to his ongoing legal troubles after another woman filed a civil lawsuit against him alleging sexual assault and battery for an incident in 2020.

Watson is being investigated again by the NFL, which will determine if he violated its personal conduct policy a second time. The woman's attorney said last week his client has indicated a willingness to speak to the league.

If Watson is suspended, it's possible the Browns can void the final two years of the record-breaking $230 million contract they signed him to in 2022.

That's all speculation at this point. The fact is Watson played with poise in helping the Browns (1-1) recover from a horrendous Week 1 loss to Dallas and change the narrative of his and Cleveland's season — for now.

“He understands that he’ll do whatever it takes to win,” coach Kevin Stefanski said.

Watson's numbers weren't great: 22 of 34 for 186 yards and a 78.8 rating. But he started strong, going 7 of 8 on Cleveland's opening 16-play, 89-yard drive that chewed up 9:14 and he capped with a 1-yard TD run.

Unlike a week ago in his first game since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last November, Watson was decisive. He got rid of the ball quickly and appeared to recognize coverages better.

And, he didn't turn the ball over.

“I thought offensively, and Deshaun in particular, we played clean,” Stefanski said Monday. “We played on time. He spread the ball out, was very good in his reads throughout the day. Kind of took what was there if (option) No. 1 wasn’t there. Moved on to No. 2 and played really clean.”

Watson also made a couple of plays that can't be diagrammed on a whiteboard.

With the pocket collapsing, Watson's instincts took over and his elusiveness allowed him to avoid would-be sackers, buy time and complete passes on the move.

There was also a major blunder as Watson inexplicably threw a pass on third down in the final two minutes with the Browns on the verge of victory. Watson was told to take the sack if the play broke down; he didn't.

The Browns survived, so all is forgiven.

“Deshaun got a game ball,” Stefanski said. “He played well. He helped us win. Obviously that play wasn’t exactly how we wanted it to go, but he’s a battler and I think that is very evident.”

The win quieted the noise around Watson.

There's no telling if it will last.

Cleveland's defense passed its first road test, holding the Jaguars to a touchdown and two field goals.

It was a positive sign and temporary turnaround for the unit, which was strong at home and soft away from it in 2023. The performance came after five defensive players went on injured reserve last week.

The Browns created pressure up front and the secondary did its job blanketing receivers. It helped that Jaguars tight end Evan Engram, who had 11 catches and two TDs last year against Cleveland, didn't play after hurting his hamstring in warmups.

Penalties are piling up. The Browns were called for 13, giving them 24 in two games and triggering more criticism that Cleveland's starters should have played in the preseason.

While trying to put the Jaguars away, the Browns were whistled for three penalties in four plays, pushing them back and out of field-goal range.

“We need to be better in that area,” Stefanski said. “It’s hard to win. We don’t need to make it harder.”

In his second game with Cleveland, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy finished with five catches for 73 yards.

Jeudy, who came over in a trade from Denver in March, made two tough grabs along the sideline to keep drives moving.

“Jerry’s doing a nice job,” Stefanski said. “We’re going to continue to learn more about him and how to line him up, where to line him up, those types of things.”

For the second week in a row, Amari Cooper was a nonfactor. Cleveland's No. 1 wide receiver had just three catches for 11 yards and dropped another long pass from Watson.

That's uncharacteristic for the sure-handed veteran.

“Small sample size,” Stefanski said. “I’ve seen it click with those two guys many times, so we’ll just keep working.”

WR David Bell will undergo season-ending surgery after dislocating his right hip. ... RB Pierre Strong Jr. is considered week to week with a hamstring injury. ... DE Ogbo Okoronkwo cleared concussion protocol after being checked for a head injury. ... Stefanski didn't have specific updates on Myles Garrett (foot) or CB Denzel Ward (shoulder), who were both limited. ... Stefanski hasn't ruled out TE David Njoku (sprained ankle) “yet” for this week's game.

14% — Cleveland's alarming third-down conversion rate (4 for 29).

Maybe a chance for the offense to find another gear against the New York Giants.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) looks for an open receiver during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks at a play during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) leaps over Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) on a run during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson answers a question from a reporter during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) throws a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) warms up before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

WASHINGTON (AP) — With characteristic bravado, Donald Trump has vowed that if voters return him to the White House, “inflation will vanish completely."

It’s a message tailored for Americans who are still exasperated by the jump in consumer prices that began 3 1/2 years ago.

Yet most mainstream economists say Trump’s policy proposals wouldn't vanquish inflation. They’d make it worse. They warn that his plans to impose huge tariffs on imported goods, deport millions of migrant workers and demand a voice in the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies would likely send prices surging.

Sixteen Nobel Prize-winning economists signed a letter in June expressing fear that Trump's proposals would “reignite’’ inflation, which has plummeted since peaking at 9.1% in 2022 and is nearly back to the Fed’s 2% target.

Last month, the Peterson Institute for International Economics predicted that Trump’s policies would drive consumer prices sharply higher two years into his second term. Peterson's analysis concluded that inflation, which would otherwise register 1.9% in 2026, would instead jump to between 6% and 9.3% if Trump's economic proposals were adopted.

Many economists aren’t thrilled with Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic agenda, either. They dismiss, for example, her proposal to combat price gouging as an ineffective tool against high grocery prices. But they don’t regard her policies as particularly inflationary.

Moody’s Analytics has estimated that Harris' policies would leave the inflation outlook virtually unchanged, even if she enjoyed a Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress. An unfettered Trump, by contrast, would leave prices higher by 1.1 percentage points in 2025 and 0.8 percentage points in 2026.

Taxes on imports — tariffs — are Trump’s go-to economic policy. He argues that tariffs protect American factory jobs from foreign competition and deliver a host of other benefits.

While in office, Trump started a trade war with China, imposing high tariffs on most Chinese goods. He also raised import taxes on foreign steel and aluminum, washing machines and solar panels. He has grander plans for a second term: Trump wants to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods and a “universal’’ tariff of 10% or 20% on everything else that enters the United States.

Trump insists that the cost of taxing imported goods is absorbed by the foreign countries. The truth is that U.S. importers pay the tariff — and then typically pass along that cost to consumers in the form of higher prices. Americans themselves end up bearing the cost.

Kimberly Clausing and Mary Lovely of the Peterson Institute have calculated that Trump’s proposed 60% tax on Chinese imports and his high-end 20% tariff on everything else would, in combination, impose an after-tax loss on a typical American household of $2,600 a year.

The Trump campaign notes that U.S. inflation remained low even as Trump aggressively imposed tariffs as president.

But Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said that the magnitude of Trump’s current tariff proposals has vastly changed the calculations. “The Trump tariffs in 2018-19 didn’t have as large an impact as the tariffs were only just over $300 billion in mostly Chinese imports,’’ he said. “The former president is now talking about tariffs on over $3 trillion in imported goods.''

And the inflationary backdrop was different during Trump’s first term when the Fed worried that inflation was too low, not too high.

Trump, who has invoked incendiary rhetoric about immigrants, has promised the “largest deportation operation'' in U.S. history.

Many economists say the increased immigration over the past couple years helped tame inflation while avoiding a recession.

The surge in foreign-born workers has made it easier for fill vacancies. That helps cool inflation by easing the pressure on employers to sharply raise pay and to pass on their higher labor costs by increasing prices.

Net immigration — arrivals minus departures — reached 3.3 million in 2023, more than triple what the government had expected. Employers needed the new arrivals. As the economy roared back from pandemic lockdowns, companies struggled to hire enough workers to keep up with customer orders.

Immigrants filled the gap. Over the past four years, the number of people in the United States who either have a job or are looking for one rose by nearly 8.5 million. Roughly 72% of them were foreign born.

Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson of the Brookings Institution found that by raising the supply of workers. the influx of immigrants allowed the United States to generate jobs without overheating the economy.

In the past, economists estimated that America’s employers could add no more than 100,000 jobs a month without igniting inflation. But when Edelberg and Watson factored in the immigration surge, they found that monthly job growth could reach 160,000 to 200,000 without exerting upward pressure on prices.

Trump's mass deportations, if carried out, would change everything. The Peterson Institute calculates that the U.S. inflation rate would be 3.5 percentage points higher in 2026 if Trump managed to deport all 8.3 million undocumented immigrant workers thought to be working in the United States.

Trump alarmed many economists in August by saying he would seek to have “a say” in the Fed’s interest rate decisions.

The Fed is the government’s chief inflation-fighter. It attacks high inflation by raising interest rates to restrain borrowing and spending, slow the economy and cool the rate of price increases.

Economic research has found that the Fed and other central banks can properly manage inflation only if they're kept independent of political pressure. That’s because raising rates can cause economic pain — perhaps a recession — so it's anathema to politicians seeking reelection.

As president, Trump frequently hounded Jerome Powell, the Fed chair he had chosen, to lower rates to try to juice the economy. For many economists, Trump's public pressure on Powell exceeded even the attempts that Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon made to push previous Fed chairs to keep rates low — moves that were widely blamed for helping spur the chronic inflation of the late 1960s and ’70s.

The Peterson Institute report found that upending the Fed's independence would increase inflation by 2 percentage points a year.

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Trump's economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say

Trump's economic plans would worsen inflation, experts say

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